Two people was fine, but three made a crowd.
Wu Yuejiang could tell he was the extra one here. Though he had no intention of tagging along, he still asked in a teasing tone, “Do you even know which furniture store to take her to?”
He Yan truly had no clue.
He’d never properly furnished a place before – when he was broke, he’d drag beds and wardrobes from secondhand markets. Once he had money, he’d just have his assistant handle purchases. Even in his previous life, he’d never bothered learning about these things.
Whether furniture was made of expensive wood or not made no difference to his sleep quality.
He simply didn’t care.
Seeing He Yan’s silence, Wu Yuejiang shook his head with exaggerated disappointment and named a large furniture market. “Young women usually enjoy shopping there. They have everything from big to small items – some people can spend entire days browsing there.”
He Yan had no dating experience, nor had he ever spent time with young women outside work contexts.
The women in his life were either older relatives or his employees.
So he didn’t know what they liked, nor had he ever considered the question. Wu Yuejiang used to advise He Yan not to focus solely on making money and to at least pay some attention to his romantic life. Back then, He Yan would just scoff, deftly prying open a beer bottle with indifference.
Now that Wu Yuejiang found himself in the decision-maker’s position, he no longer said those things – no time or energy for it.
He Yan regarded his suggestion with skepticism: “Are you sure young women like going there?”
“Positive. Not just young women – I like it there too.” Wu Yuejiang adjusted his glasses calmly.
He Yan decided to trust him.
After all, Wu Yuejiang had a younger sister.
That afternoon, Wu Yuejiang went out to meet with bank managers, leaving only He Yan in the office. After finishing his work, He Yan picked up the landline, dialed the internal extension, and summoned Wang Yuan. Within two minutes, the lanky young man knocked and entered, holding a cup of milk tea with an ingratiating smile. “Brother Yan, new milk tea shop opened at Starlight Plaza. My treat – everyone in the company got one, including you.”
“Did something good happen?” He Yan didn’t accept it.
Wang Yuan was good in every way except one: he was stingy.
At least in his previous life, the only time Wang Yuan had reached this level of generosity was when he bought property in his hometown.
Wang Yuan shyly turned away, “Can’t really call it good news yet, Brother Yan. So, what do you think of me as a person?”
He Yan glanced at him, “Just say what you want directly.”
“Then I’ll be blunt?” Wang Yuan eagerly pierced the milk tea lid for him, “Does Wen Xue… have a boyfriend?”
He Yan: “…”
He raised his hand and impassively pushed away the milk tea Wang Yuan was practically shoving toward his mouth, holding up one finger. “What number is this?”
Confused but honest, Wang Yuan replied, “One?”
“You’re not drunk?”
Wang Yuan: “?”
He said irritably, “Brother Yan, what do you mean by that? I know I’m not good enough for her, but I’m a decent guy.”
“Being decent doesn’t count for much.”He Yan was telling the truth. He knew Wen Xue was still young and would inevitably fall in love someday. Deep down, he even hoped a decent man would come along to guide her forward and build a peaceful, happy life with her. But that man would not be Wang Yuan. It wasn’t a matter of compatibility—rather, for someone like Wen Xue, if her boyfriend lacked strong capability or resilient mental fortitude, he would stand no chance if that man from her past ever reappeared in her life.
Wang Yuan was so furious his hair nearly stood on end. He snatched the milk tea back and took a fierce gulp.
He Yan said, “Don’t be angry. I’m saying this for your own good. Now, about business—go to the hardware store later and buy several high-wattage light bulbs. Replace all the lights in the hallway.”
Unwilling to give up, Wang Yuan insisted, “Bro, I’m not just a good guy—I’m also honest.”
He Yan lowered his head and spread out the documents. “Get out.”
…
6:00 p.m.
Wen Xue felt the day had been long because she had to stay alert constantly to adapt to her work. In just one day, she and Li Jingru had already developed a tacit understanding. Whenever Wen Xue spaced out, Li Jingru would whistle to snap her back to attention.
Nana commented, “You two look like street loafers.”
Wen Xue stifled a laugh but still said softly, “Thank you, Sister Jing.”
Li Jingru waved her hand dismissively. “No need to thank me, it’s normal. When I first started learning from Sister Cai, I fell asleep listening to her chatter. Take it slow—it’ll get better.”
Would it really get better?
Wen Xue wasn’t so sure.
“Wen Xue, want to go shopping together?” Nana asked cheerfully after clocking out, turning her head toward her.
“She’s not going.”
The reply didn’t come from Wen Xue. Everyone in the office turned toward the voice. He Yan, tall and straight-backed in a black overcoat, stood outside the door holding car keys. He scanned the room before his gaze settled on Wen Xue, who was drinking water. “Ready to go?”
“Mm.”
Wen Xue hurriedly screwed the cap back on her bottle, grabbed her bag, and stood up. She offered them a faint smile as a farewell before following He Yan. As they walked out of the company, passing a large potted plant by the entrance, she didn’t notice the drooping leaves, but He Yan raised his arm to shield her hair from being tousled.
Li Jingru and Nana had already witnessed He Yan’s special treatment of Wen Xue yesterday.
But Sister Zhou, seeing it for the first time, was taken aback and clicked her tongue in amazement. If He Yan hadn’t explicitly said Wen Xue was his sister, she would have thought…
The jeep cruised along the wide road. Wen Xue hadn’t ridden in his car often enough to know that He Yan usually drove fast. But catching sight of her quietly curled up in the passenger seat from the corner of his eye, he slowed down. “Hungry?”
“Not really.”
Wen Xue wasn’t ungrateful. She noticed and remembered every kindness shown to her in life. While learning the workflow from Li Jingru today, she guessed he was short-handed, but that might also be an excuse—he still wanted to support and look after her.
Whether she needed it or not, she felt grateful.
Thinking this, she reached into her bag, found the remaining chocolates, cupped them in her palm, hesitated for a moment, and then placed them on the center console.
Hearing the rustling sound, He Yan glanced down casually while waiting at a red light. The interior was dimly lit. His eyes lingered on the two chocolates before shifting to Wen Xue’s profile. He picked one up, unwrapped it, and stuffed the chocolate—which he didn’t even particularly like—into his mouth.The flavor was overly sweet for him; eating one was already the limit, so he didn’t touch the other.
He paid attention to the shops on both sides of the street and asked, “What would you like for dinner?”
If they weren’t heading to the furniture store afterward, Wen Xue’s answer would likely have been “anything is fine.” It was already past six o’clock, and dining at a restaurant would probably take one to two hours. She didn’t reply immediately, her gaze piercing through the windshield as she looked around. Spotting a familiar sign in the night sky, she murmured, “Can I get out and buy something?”
He Yan paused. “Sure.”
With that, he pulled over to the curb.
But as she unbuckled her seatbelt and prepared to get out, he grew uneasy again. “I’ll go buy it instead.”
In the past, Wen Xue had genuinely not heard what others said, but this time she deliberately pretended not to hear.
She got out of the car, closed the door firmly, and as she turned around, the wind lifted her hair. She only glanced back hurriedly, as if to memorize the parking spot, then braved the chilly night breeze and walked toward the shop. Her figure went from clear to blurry, until she disappeared from He Yan’s sight.
He Yan chuckled wryly.
Wen Xue’s speed in buying food was honed over three years of high school and a year and a half of university. Before long, she came jogging back with a paper bag in her arms. In that short time, the tip of her nose had turned red from the cold. Once in the car, she breathed rapidly, her chest rising and falling.
“You bought burgers?” he asked.
Wen Xue gasped for breath. “…Yes.”
She tried to calm herself, carefully opened the paper bag, took out one burger, and handed the entire bag to him. “I didn’t know what flavor you like. The line was long, and I didn’t call, so I just bought whatever.”
“It’s fine, I’m not picky.”
When He Yan took the bag, he froze for a few seconds, clearly feeling its weight.
Sure enough, reaching inside, one, two, three…
Three burgers, two of which were Whoppers.
Besides that, she had also bought three drinks. Obviously, she only intended to drink one.
He Yan: “…”
He couldn’t help but look at her. She lowered her head, unwrapping the packaging, and sensing his gaze, she turned to meet his eyes. Hesitantly and cautiously, she asked, “Did I buy too little? Should I go back and get something else?”
She noticed there were many shops on this street.
There was a burger joint, a bakery, and a 24-hour convenience store.
He Yan shook his head. “It’s enough.”
If he ate anything else, he’d really turn into a glutton.
…
On a weekday evening, the furniture store was bustling with activity.
Walking through, even He Yan, who was accustomed to dealing with all sorts of people, nearly lost his composure at the sight of a group of people sprawled openly on display beds, sleeping.
Wasn’t this a store?
Why did he feel like he’d accidentally wandered into someone’s bedroom?
Wen Xue noticed the expression on his face and smiled faintly. Though He Heng and he had completely different temperaments—one refreshingly scholarly, the other rugged and steady—their facial features were similar. Suddenly, under the soft overhead light, she saw He Heng, who had been alive a year ago, through He Yan.
Back then, He Heng had been just as wide-eyed in disbelief.
He Yan’s furrowed brows relaxed unconsciously when they met Wen Xue’s amused eyes. “It’s crowded; let’s finish shopping early.”
Wu Yuejiang had truly stumbled upon a stroke of luck.He Yan could tell Wen Xue genuinely enjoyed browsing home furnishing stores. It was rare for her to show curiosity about anything, but now she kept looking around, and even reached out to squeeze and grab at the plush toys piled together.
She didn’t even notice that He Yan, following behind her, had picked out an identical one after she touched a plush toy and tossed it into the shopping cart.
From then on, anything she stared at for more than ten seconds, he took without exception.
When Wen Xue finally remembered there was someone else with her, she turned around and saw the shopping cart nearly overflowing. Surprised, she looked at him, and once she understood what had happened, she walked over resignedly and began putting back each of the little trinkets he had added.
She showed no impatience at all. As she bent down, her dark hair fell, veiling the side of her face.
He Yan rested one hand on the shopping cart handle and rubbed his forehead with the other. He was starting to think that having a younger brother was more agreeable than a younger sister.
At least He Heng wouldn’t dare act like this.
When only the plush toy remained in the shopping cart, Wen Xue stopped.
She kept it.